The acronym AI needs almost no explanation. Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly prevalent in our daily activities, and it's safe to say we interact with AI several times a day without knowing it.
One of the most important uses of AI is for improved client/customer engagement. If you do online shopping today, an AI is in use that knows all of your past purchases, what you've browsed, and what to recommend next. Amazon's customers love the predictive element of AI and buy more as a result. We all love that Netflix email that says, "Watch this next."
Client Engagement and Financial Firms
Large firms spend big on software development, with software developers making up a quarter of Goldman Sach's workforce. Firms are ever-focused on the quality of the client journey and fostering greater engagement as essential components of customer loyalty. The ideal process makes transactions stress-free and reaffirms the client's value with each touch.
With the complexity and volatility we have seen in markets these last few years, tremendous amounts of data are at the heart of every client transaction. Where a financial services professional would struggle to analyze all that data to provide smooth customer interaction, AI can access the data, understand it, and help make client services more comprehensive, efficient, and engaging.
Engagement and Experience: What's the Difference?
While AI certainly enhances the customer service experience and helps delight your clients, client experience and engagement are not identical goals.
Customer experience is the client's overall perception of the business whenever there is an interaction with it, and it represents their emotional experience at that time.
Customer engagement is the focus on all actions of your clients. An evaluation of customer engagement asks questions like:
- How deeply are they engaging with the brand?
- Are they adding more products to their investments?
- Have they spread positive word of mouth?
Experience is a component of increasing customer engagement, the broad analysis that leads to the most tangible results.
Engaged clients are loyal and emotionally attached to your firm. They will invest more, refer new clients, and want to invest in new products.
How AI Grows Engagement
AI allows companies to enable scalable, real-time, intelligent personalization for face-to-face and online interactions, which improves customer engagement. Distinct client segments and demographics are no longer determinants of who receives what services. All clients receive the highest level of service with hyper-specific recommendations, all pulled from what is best called "hyper-relevance."
The massive data points generated for each client are pulled out of their silos. Predictive analytics and machine learning utilize that data to craft a truly holistic view of each customer. Products are no longer offered to match a demographic or client's net worth but down to the level of the individual customer.
Hyper-Personalization Grows Firms
Customers who feel a firm looks at them like a demographic segment don't feel as appreciated as clients treated as a segment of one. They stay with your firm, invest in more products, and are much more profitable.
Also, it doesn't hurt that you get to smile every time a client tells you how happy they are with your firm.
For more on how financial firms could benefit from implementing AI solutions effectively check out this video.
